UP woman MLA seeks action against peers’ stripping act

A woman legislator in Uttar Pradesh lodged a complaint with the speaker’s office over two Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) legislators taking off their shirts in the assembly two days back, officials said Friday.

A complaint was lodged by Apna Dal legislator Anupriya Patel who has sought action against the two legislators. The matter has been referred to the conduct committee of the house, officials added.

Patel said that if such acts of indecency were not checked with immediate effect, it would not be possible for her to attend proceedings of the house.

Patel termed the act of RLD legislators Amarjeet Singh and Sudesh Sharma as not only male chauvinism but also anti-women.

Other women legislators, cutting across party lines, also slammed the conduct of the two legislators. Former Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief and legislator Rita Bahuguna Joshi said such acts were a blot on both democracy and decency.

The UP assembly witnessed uproar Wednesday when Governor B.L. Joshi was reading out his address in the house.

Opposition Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leaders stood on chairs and tables with their shoes on and raised anti-government slogans, and two RLD legislators took off their shirts to protest non-payment of arrears to cane growers of the state.

The matter spun out of control when Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mohd Azam Khan dared the legislators to strip completely and “show their manhood”.

The Uttar Pradesh assembly has been convened for 10 days to pass the vote-on-account to meet the state’s expenses for the next four months.